Hemingway Vs. Carver

Hemingway vs. Carver

“Let’s drink beer” (Hemingway 1). This short quote almost relatively describes the short story “Hills Like White Elephants” written by Ernest Hemingway. This particular story is about a couple, Jig and the American, who are on a journey to Madrid to get Jig a “simple operation” or in other words, an abortion. The story starts out when the couple is at a bar and are drinking alcohol (mostly beer) and both the American and Jig are frustrated with each other because the American is trying to convince Jig to get an abortion and Jig isn’t sure about what she wants to do. “A blind man in my house was not something I looked forward to” (Carver 1). The short story “The Cathedral” written by Raymond Carver, the narrator feels threatened by his wife’s blind friend and former employer who comes to visit named Robert. The narrator feels he has to get to know Robert, so after dinner one night while under the influence of marijuana Robert and the narrator have a moment while the Narrator sketches a cathedral while Robert holds the pen. While they were talking, the narrator finds out that his wife and Robert have been closely communicating through cassette tapes without his knowledge, which made him feel insecure. The story ends with the narrator and Robert finishing the sketch of the cathedral, Robert tells the narrator to open his eyes and he doesn’t because he says he felt good about the experience. Both of these stories are about relationships and how important communication is because of the realizations characters have in each of the stories.

Hemingway depicts “Hills Like White Elephants” in a way that you wouldn’t really expect. The story proves that communication is key in relationships. The couple in this story are clearly drinking to relieve stress about a conflict because they are about to embark on a seemingly uncomfortable journey. The story is a short conversation in a bar while they are waiting to be picked up on a train so Jig the antagonist in the story, can get an abortion. The first time reading the conversation can be a bit confusing because Hemingway creates an allusion, it wasn’t until the second time reading through can one understand what exactly the “simple operation” is, at least that’s how it was in my case. “It’s really an awfully simple operation, Jig. It’s really not anything at all… It’s just to let the air in” (Hemingway 2). This quote was the first time the abortion was brought up between the couple. The girl (Jig) was generally silent and uncomfortable while the American was making these remarks, although it was obvious that she did not want to talk about it until she could make up her own mind. She shows her frustration with the American more towards the end when she says, “would you please please please please please please please stop talking?” (Hemingway 3). The American still didn’t get the hint, so she resorts to saying, “I’ll scream” (Hemingway 3). The story ends with them preparing to get on the train and Jig seemed to be in a bit of denial. The reason this story is about communication in relationships is because that’s all the story was based off of, one conversation between two people who are clearly together, while drinking in a bar.

Carver opens up the story “Cathedral” with a conversation between the narrator and his wife at their house. The wife is informing the narrator that her blind friend is coming to visit them. While the narrator is clearly unamused about their soon to be dinner guest, he remembers that the blind man was his wife’s former employer. One of the main themes in this particular story is how the narrator comes to realize that physical vision isn’t always as important, and that’s something that most people forget. The narrator comes to this realization because of the relationship he forms with Robert from just conversing with him after a dinner they have. Another theme of the story is communication, the wife kept communicating with Robert through cassette tapes throughout the years behind the narrators back. After dinner, the narrator and Robert converse and get acquainted, which makes the narrator realize that looking